


I Will Try to Fix Myself, For You

by StydiaHeart1500



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Feels, Post-Movie(s), Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-12 18:31:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11742729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StydiaHeart1500/pseuds/StydiaHeart1500
Summary: Diana lost a part of herself when she lost Steve, a part of herself that she didn't even know existed. When he returns to her nearly a century later, she tries to carry on as if nothing has changed. But she finds herself caught between the person she used to be - the person that Steve remembers - and the person she became after Steve's death.Can a century of darkness ever truly be overcome, even by the return of the sun itself?





	1. A Dark and Heavy Life

The waves crashed against Diana’s ankles as she breathed in the fresh air. Work had been quite the burden lately, and she was struggling to keep up. As much as she enjoyed running a museum, there were times when she wondered why she bothered. But every now and then, she could find moments like this. Moments of peace.   
  
The blue water reminded her of Themyscira. Glancing up, she caught sight of a sailboat in the distance. A small smile danced across her face as she remembered the sailing lessons she had received, decades ago. Other memories threatened to arise, but she quickly pushed them away. The billowing sail was beautiful, but it was just another ghost. Another ghost that would always haunt her.   
  
The sudden burst of reality reminded her that she had work to do, places to go and people to meet. The drive back was long, and a fog of memories loomed above her. By the time she arrived at the museum, her mood was so sour that she knew she couldn’t hide it. Luckily, Allie, her coworker, was busy enough that she didn’t notice.   
  
“Diana, there you are! We got a call from an older gentleman while you were away. He says he has a piece we would love, and I think you should go take a look.” Allie, young and naïve, had more energy than anyone Diana had ever known. She had a good eye for historical artifacts, and Diana trusted her opinion.   
  
“He’s a veteran, he served in Vietnam, and he says that he has a box of love letters. He dated a nurse who looked after him when he was injured. They kept in touch for the remained of the war, and were supposed to get married. But the day before the war ended, he never heard from her again. These letters are incredible, Diana. They practically narrate the entire war; they describe what it was really like, plus it’s a beautiful love story, and then there’s the mystery of what happened to his girl. It could make for a great addition.” Allie looked at Diana hesitantly, waiting for her response.   
  
Battling emotions had overtaken Diana as Allie had told the story. A part of her hurt for the man, the woman he had loved, and the life together they had lost. But mostly, her heart just felt…hardened. The story didn’t surprise her; these types of stories never did. The man and the woman had simply gone on to lead separate lives, and the world carried on, as it always did.   
  
Time didn’t stop for the sake of lovers.   
  
But the story would indeed be a good addition. It was everything that visitors wanted to see in a history museum; it would be a hit. Diana smiled lightly at Allie, trying her best to seem excited. “Allie, I love it. Call him back and have him give us an idea of when he could meet with me. I think it’s great.”   
  
Allie’s eyes lit up, and she nodded her head, clearly pleased with Diana’s approval. “You got it, boss!” She turned on her heel, and Diana watched her go.   
  
Allie reminded Diana of herself, a long time ago, when the world had seemed open and inviting. But times had changed. The world was a cold, unforgiving place. No, Diana corrected herself: the times had not changed, she had changed. The world had always been cold and dark. It was her own soul that was different.   
  
People died without books written in their memory, no songs sang for them. Love was always ravaged by time, truly an emotion that could only ever lead to pain. There was always a new war being fought, whether it be a world-encompassing war or simply a war between two people.   
  
She’d had just about enough for the day, emotionally and physically. The museum would be closed in a few hours, and her other responsibilities could wait until tomorrow. She grabbed her belongings from her office, and locked the door behind her.   
  
She was rearranging her purse, trying to find her phone, when a voice caught her attention. She glanced up, her brow furrowed, searching through the dozens of visitors currently in the museum. She must be hearing things.   
  
“Diana?” This time, the voice was unmistakable. She froze in place, her hand in her purse, unable to move. Her eyes moved upward, to a man that couldn’t be real. He looked just like Steve. He had seen her, his eyes lighting up from across the museum.   
  
Her body recovered from the shock, she turned and ran. Past her office, through the back hallway, out the back door, and to her car. She locked the doors, finally able to breathe. She started the car and backed out of her parking spot, almost hitting another parked car in the process. She glanced in her rearview mirror, terrified, until she was finally on the freeway.   
  
She had faced many adversaries. Demons, monsters, humans, gods, myths. She wasn’t sure which was responsible for what she had just seen, but she knew it was absolutely evil. Steve had died. She had watched him die. She had been powerless to stop it.   
  
Anger coursed through her. How dare they? She wasn’t sure who it had been, or what it had been, but how dare they use Steve to try to get to her? She had half a mind to turn around and go back, but thought better of it. She had no idea who or what she was dealing with, and she didn’t want to risk anything.   
  
When she arrived at her house, she parked inside of her garage, checked and locked every door and window, and tried to calm her nerves. She brewed tea, wrapped herself in a blanket, and sat in silence on her couch.   
  
A frantic knock on the door startled her so badly that she spilled her tea all over herself, accidentally screaming in shock.   
  
“Diana! Diana, it’s me, Steve.” The hot tea burning her skin was forgotten. It was his voice. How could it be? She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she wasn’t going to be fooled that easily. Tiptoeing to the front door, she glanced through the peephole.   
  
Steve’s face was there, looking down at the door handle, a hesitant smile on his lips.   
  
Diana’s eyes narrowed. Grabbing the door handle, she prepared herself. In one breath, she ripped the door open, grabbed him by the throat, yanked him inside, kicked the door closed behind her, and held him up high against the wall. His hands were wildly fighting against hers as she held him up by his throat. The smile on his face was gone, replaced by a look of confusion and absolute horror.   
  
“Who are you?!” The words rumbled from her mouth like thunder, her teeth grinding angrily as she seethed.   
  
“Steve – Diana, it’s…me, please…” He fought to get the words out, gasping for air. She tightened her grip.   
  
“Wrong. Answer. Now tell me who you really are.” She demanded. He gestured wildly with his hands, making a circle in the air. His lips moved, but he couldn’t get any words out. She loosened her grip, just slightly.   
  
“Lasso…use it…” His eyes were begging with her, pleading.   
  
Something in her hesitated. The lasso? She released his throat, and he fell to the floor, his hand on his neck as he sucked in giant breaths of air. Lowering herself onto one knee, she brought her face within a few inches of his. She studied his eyes, his mouth, his hair, his lips. The color was returning to his cheeks. The fear was gone from his eyes, and he studied her right back.   
  
“Diana….” The word fell heavily from his lips.   
  
She stumbled backward, bringing herself up to a standing position. “I don’t know who you are. But you need to get out of my house this second.” She tried to sound as threatening as she had just a few moments ago, but her voice was shaking.   
  
“No, please, Diana, let me explain.” He began to stand up, and she stumbled away from him. She had to get away. She turned and found herself running down the hallway, into her bathroom. She locked the door and slid down it, sitting with her back against the cold wood. Her heart felt as though it was going to escape from her chest. Her vision was blurry and spotty, and she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from fainting.   
  
“Diana?” The calm voice came from the other side of the door. She didn’t respond. She couldn’t respond.   
  
“Diana, I need you to believe that it’s me. I know it seems impossible but I need you to believe me. It’s really me, Steve.”   
  
“Well I don’t believe you!” The words tumbled out of her mouth, and she found herself unable to stop. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know if this is fate playing some kind of cruel trick on me, or if I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I’m dreaming, I’ve dreamed about you too many times to count. Whatever this is, it’s not funny, and I don’t believe you. It can’t be you.”   
  
“Diana, I know that you know it. You looked into my eyes. You know me. You’ve looked into my heart before Diana, I know that you recognize it. I know this doesn’t make sense but deep down you know that I am telling you the truth.”   
  
Her lips wouldn’t stop quivering. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out his words with reasoning and logic. But she knew that he was right. Those were Steve’s eyes. His heart shown right through them, and she would recognize him anywhere. She didn’t need the lasso to confirm it.   
  
“It’s not possible, I watched Steve Trevor die. He blew up, sacrificed himself. He’s dead, you’re not real, it’s not possible.” As she spoke, emotion rose up in her throat, choking her. Tears flooded her eyes, and every breath became a struggle.   
  
“Diana… Open the door.” His voice was a soft whisper, and knowing that he was right on the other side was too much for her. She wanted to let him in but couldn’t seem to move.   
  
“Diana…I’ve waited so long. You’re even more beautiful than in my memories. I remember the very first time I saw you, I can picture it now. I thought I had died and gone to heaven,” he chuckled, “ironic, right? Those memories are all that got me through. I can’t stand being this close to you, but not able to touch you or look at you. Please… please open the door.” He whispered, his voice full of love and longing. She couldn’t stand it, either.   
  
Sliding away from the door, she reached up and unlocked it. She held her breath without realizing it, her heart pounding. There was a moment of complete stillness. Then the handle turned, and the door slowly opened.   
  
And there he was, looking down at her, his eyes full of emotion. They were even more blue than she remembered. It was him, it was her Steve. She broke eye contact, unable to hold back the tears, and lowered her head onto her knees. And suddenly he was touching her,  
surrounding her, and she felt herself collapse.   
  
She sobbed, her entire body shaking. Steve held her tighter, pressing his lips against her forehead. She turned into him, gripping the front of his shirt and resting her head against his chest.   
  
The overwhelming sobs began to subside, and she desperately gasped for air, trying to recover. Then she heard it, the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.   
  
His heartbeat.   
  
It pounded in her ear, she felt it against her skin. He was gloriously, wondrously alive. Her breathing slowed, her eyes closed, and she simply listened.   
  
She didn’t talk, and neither did he. They didn’t need to. Her grip on his shirt loosened, and her arms fell around him in exhaustion. They sat, Steve against the bathroom door, wrapped up in each other to the point where Diana couldn’t tell where his body ended and where hers began.   
  
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she finally moved to look up at him. He was already looking at her, his blue eyes red and tear-stained. She raised her hand, softly caressing his cheek. His lips lifted up into a smile, and he pressed his face into her hand. It was such a tender moment that Diana felt her eyes fill with tears once again.   
  
“Steve…how? How are you here? I don’t understand.” Her voice was coarse and uneven.   
  
He was still just looking at her, a dreamy smile plastered onto his face. His hand came up to her neck, his thumb running along her jaw, brushing her earlobe, before softly grazing her bottom lip. Diana held her breath for a moment, closed her eyes, and suddenly she was back in Veld.   
  
She had pushed the memory to the back of her mind for decades, refusing to let it return. It was an all-consuming memory. His touch sent shivers down her spine, and the memory that she had repressed for so long now burst to the front of her mind. He had caressed her face just like this, all night. He had run his finger across her bottom lip, before leaning in to kiss her. His lips had been soft and warm against hers, his light stubble had brushed against her cheeks.   
  
Suddenly she realized that he was talking to her, running his hand across her forehead. “Is it okay if we just…don’t talk about it? Just not right now. The feeling of having you back in my arms is all that I can think about. I just want to hold you, Diana. That’s all I want to do. I want you to fall asleep against me, I want to fall asleep looking at your face. I want to wake up in the middle of the night, just so that I can be reminded that you’re next to me. I want to wake up first in the morning, so that I can see you sleeping peacefully, and I want to be the first thing that you see when you open your eyes. I want to know what it’s like to wake up with you, knowing that there’s no war waiting for us, no bombs for us to stop.” His voice faltered and he seemed to lose the ability to speak. He pressed his eyes shut, a tear streaming down his face. He softly held both her cheeks in his hands, and pressed his forehead against hers.   
  
All she could do was nod her head yes, too overcome with emotion to respond any other way. She kept her forehead pressed against his, brushing her nose against his, and let him caress her face. She was so drained and exhausted that she could feel herself falling asleep, right then and there. "Steve?" She whispered.   
  
He looked up at her, still holding her face in his hands. "Yes?"   
  
"Let's go to bed."


	2. The Sun Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Diana enjoy their first morning reunited, beginning their journey of becoming reacquainted. Emotions run high, grief, affection, silliness, etc. The sun has returned to Diana after a century of loneliness.

Steve helped her to stand up, and together they managed to stumble to Diana’s bed. Diana instantly found the pillow, relaxing into the mattress that had never felt so comfortable.   
  
“I will be right back Diana, just wait here.” Steve said, and after he left the room she could hear him locking the front door and turning off the lights throughout her house. While he was gone, Diana found the energy to pull off her jeans, and slipped on the pajama shorts that she kept next to her bed. By the time Steve returned to her room, she was already under the covers and ready to fall asleep.   
  
Steve paused for a moment, and Diana met his gaze. He smiled at her, and shook his head in disbelief. She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I still can’t believe you are here. It feels like a dream.” She said, watching him pull off his long jacket.   
  
“You’re telling me. I’d pinch myself, but if this is a dream I don’t want to know.” He chuckled. He reached for his pants buckle, but then gave her a questioning look.   
  
She raised her eyebrow at him. “Are you planning to sleep in those jeans? Get comfortable, Steve.” He gave her a sheepish grin and carried on, pulling off his pants and socks, left in just his t-shirt and briefs. He got under the covers, and moved closer to her. They were face-to-face, studying each other all over again.   
  
“Diana, I don’t want to – my intentions are not… What I’m trying to say is, I know it has been a long time. I don’t know how long… there really wasn’t any way for me to know how much time was passing. But when I was trying to find you today, well… this is a world that I hardly recognize. I’ve been gone for a long time. If there is… if you have… someone else-“   
  
“Steve, stop. We can talk about all of this tomorrow. But there is nobody. My heart has always belonged to you.” Her heart felt crushed, crushed beneath all of the things that she wasn’t telling him. Yes, it had been a long time. And a lot had happened to her during that time.   
  
Right now, she just wanted to pretend that the past century had never happened. That Steve had never been torn away from her, that nothing had ever changed.   
  
He could tell that there was more to the story, his eyes full of questions. He opened his mouth, as if he was about to ask one of those questions, but Diana interrupted him. “Steve, what you said earlier, about just wanting to hold me? I want that too.”   
  
And just like that, his questions disappeared. He scooted closer to her, so that her forehead rested in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arm around her, and pressed his legs against hers.   
  
Diana sighed in relief, wrapping her own arms around him. It had been so long since she had been held like this. Now here she was, with someone sleeping beside her. And not just someone, it was her Steve. Tears filled her eyes again, and she let them stream down her cheeks. He squeezed her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Soon she was drifting to sleep, breathing in the scent of him.

***

Diana awoke to the feeling of being hot – too hot. Her eyes still closed, she tried to push the covers off of herself, but found that she was unable to move her arms. She opened her eyes in confusion, and turned her head, coming face-to-face with Steve. She instantly relaxed, the events of the previous day replaying in her mind. Steve’s arm was across Diana’s torso, trapping her arms, and his leg was draped over hers.   
  
His lips were slightly parted, eyes closed, his hair falling across his forehead. Diana usually closed her blinds before going to bed, but considering all that had happened yesterday, it had slipped her mind. The light from the rising sun glistened in through the windows, illuminating Steve’s peaceful face in shades of orange and yellow. He was beautiful.   
  
She turned onto her side so that she was facing him, and lightly brushed her finger against his cheek. She frowned as she studied him, realizing that he had not aged a day since the last time she had seen him. Where had he been? Why was he back, and why had he not returned to her sooner? Why did he look completely unchanged, after all of this time? She had so many questions.   
  
Now that she had at least partially recovered from the initial shock of Steve returning, the questions were pounding in her mind. She forced herself to take a deep breath and relax, and simply continued looking at him and running her fingers along his face. Eventually, he stirred, and his hand tightened around her body. A smile overtook his face, his eyes still closed.   
  
“So much for me waking up first and getting a chance to watch you sleep.” He mumbled, cracking an eye open to look at her. Diana chuckled, relishing how adorable he was.   
  
“Yeah, well, it was a romantic idea, Casanova.” She teased. He let out a laugh that was more like a giggle, and Diana couldn’t help but feel giddy. Steve’s laughter died away as he looked at her, but his eyes were filled with happiness.   
  
“You’re beautiful, Diana.” The words were steadfast and unwavering, and she had never believed them more than she did in that moment. She smiled shyly at him. “I was thinking the same thing about you.” He raised an eyebrow at her, and scoffed. “You think I’m beautiful? Not handsome, or dashing, or manly?”   
  
Diana laughed at his feigned offense. “You are all of those things, too,” she raised a hand and placed it on his chest, just above his heart, “but you are indeed beautiful. You’re full of joy, your smile is radiant, there is an easiness in your heart that I have rarely gotten to see, I can sense that your soul is content…You’re alive, Steve. You’re beautiful.” She met his eyes, meaning every word.   
  
She could see a mixture of emotions in his eyes: surprise, happiness, bashfulness, tenderness. His eyes fell to her lips, and for a moment she thought that he would kiss her. But instead, a different emotion filled his eyes, and he studied her with a furrowed brow.   
  
“But…yours isn’t.” His words caught her off guard, and she tried to grasp his meaning. He saw her confusion, and bit his bottom lip in thought. He brought his hand to her chest, placing it above her heart.   
  
“Your soul…it isn’t content. You’re different.”   
  
His words cut her like a knife. She tried not to react, but her heart rate sped up, and she couldn’t think of a response. He seemed to sense her panic, and quickly spoke up again. “I’m sorry, Diana, I didn’t mean for that to come out wrong.”   
  
“No, Steve, it’s okay. You’ve been gone for a long time, it’s only natural that I would seem different to you. Speaking of which,” she desperately wanted to change the subject, “you’ve been gone. And I still don’t know anything about it. I want to know, I want to understand…Where have you been? And why are you back now?”   
  
The look on his face told her that he had sensed the question was coming, and that he was ready to talk about it. He took a moment to think about his answer, then said “It’s a very long story. How about I make you breakfast, and we talk about it after that?”   
  
Diana’s eyes filled with tears faster than a speeding bullet, and Steve was absolutely horrified. “What did I say?!”   
  
Diana started to laugh, still crying, which only seemed to confused Steve more. She finally was able to speak, “Steve, I have been waiting for almost a century to have breakfast with you.” She thought back to the endless mornings when she had woken up and eaten breakfast alone. The first year after Steve’s death, she could hardly get through a breakfast without being overwhelmed by grief and the memory of him. It had gotten slightly easier as the decades had gone on, but only slightly.   
  
Steve was holding her tightly, crying with her. She couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity, and it seemed that they were both lost to a fit of grief and uncontrollable hilarity.   
  
When the waterfall of emotions seemed to have finally passed, they lay against each other, catching their breath.   
  
“We have so many breakfasts to look forward to.” Steve said in disbelief. Diana sat up and nodded at him, barely able to believe it herself.   
  
“Well, we’ve been waiting for a century. Let’s not wait any longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter! I love these two. In the coming chapters, Steve will explain what happened to him. The tables will be turned, and Diana will be the one introducing Steve to the new world. They will continue to be reacquainted, Steve wanting to know every single detail of Diana's time without him... Diana will be less than excited to talk about it, desperate not to open up the wounds of her past. Steve will catch a glimpse of the darkness surrounding Diana. The flames of attraction will burn brightly, the future of their relationship will be questioned, etc. etc.  
> I hope the story has been enjoyable so far! Angsty story is full of angst, I know. 3rd chapter will be up within a day or 2. Thanks for reading :)


	3. Regrets, I've Had a Few

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve explains what happened to him, and regrets and mistakes from the past are brought out into the open.

Diana slipped on a clean shirt and ran her fingers quickly through her long hair. When she got to the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway and smiled to herself. Steve was already there, in a t-shirt and his boxers. A thought popped into her head.   
  
“Steve, your clothes. Where did you get them?”   
  
He jumped, clearly unaware of her presence, and looked over his shoulder at her. He glanced down at the black t-shirt he was wearing, and chuckled. “Right… well, I spent about 30 minutes wandering around in a German WWI uniform, and realized that I didn’t exactly… fit in. I will say, the clothing styles that seem to be popular now are pretty shocking. And I don’t mean in a good way, either. Mostly because a lot of the clothes look like undergarments, one girl that I passed looked like she wasn’t even wearing any pan -“   
  
“Steve.”   
  
“Right, sorry. Anyway, I came across this place where everyone was taking their clothes. I noticed a guy who was about the right proportions, and once he left I… well, I just picked these clothes.”   
  
Diana raised her eyebrows at him, “So you stole them? From a laundromat, you managed to steal an innocent man’s clothes?” She tried not to laugh. Steve’s cheeks turned a light shade of red, and he rolled his eyes at her.   
  
“Well hey, I didn’t have much of a choice alright? And, besides the point, I was a spy, remember? I was very good at my job. I can manage to get away with a few articles of clothing, and your lack of faith in me is a bit offensive.” He laughed, and Diana let herself laugh along with him.   
  
“Of course, I remember. And you’re right; you were very good at your job. It was fascinating to me, like a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from. Quite the introduction to humanity, you and your sleuthing ways.” She teased, moving to sit on a barstool in the kitchen. Steve just laughed, his nose crinkling in that adorable way.   
  
“Yeah, I set the bar for humanity pretty low, didn’t I?”   
  
“Actually, Steve, you set the bar very high. Too high, in fact; you made the rest of humanity quite a let-down.” She’d meant it to sound sarcastic, but instead it came out bitter and honest. Because it was honest, and she was bitter. When she glanced up, Steve’s bright smile had turned into a troubled frown. She looked back down, unable to hold his gaze. She stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of a way to remedy the situation.   
  
“Well I’m starving. Let’s eat!” Steve piped up, and her shoulders lowered in relief. She didn’t want to think about or talk about humanity.   
  
Steve was opening her kitchen cupboards, looking in the fridge, and then his eye was caught by the electric stove. It was new, and fancy. Steve looked at it, biting his lip nervously.   
  
“You know how I said that I would make you a romantic breakfast? Well… You may need to make it, actually. I have to admit, I don’t know what I’m looking at, and I certainly wouldn’t know how to use any of it.” He sounded flabbergasted, and Diana chuckled.   
  
“Oh, don’t worry Steve. We can just have cereal.” She got up and got everything out that they would need. Steve picked up the box of Lucky Charms, an eyebrow raised in question. Diana handed him his bowl, and he moved the spoon around tentatively. They sat on the couch together, and she couldn’t help but watch for his reaction.   
  
After he took a bite, his eyes widened and practically sparkled in excitement. “Oh… Oh my. That is…” He took another bite, and Diana giggled. “Diana, you don’t understand, this is the best food I have ever eaten.” He looked up at her, like a kid in a candy store.   
  
“Yes, it is a very popular cereal. It’s one of my favorites.” He didn’t even seem to hear her, completely overwhelmed by the magic of the charms. Diana watched, flashing back to the first time she tried ice cream. She remembered her reaction being something similar to Steve’s, so very long ago.   
  
She waited for him to finish eating, after he eagerly got a second bowl. He had barely come up for air, scarfing down both bowls as Diana watched. He set the bowl down with a content groan, and lay his head back against the couch. Diana brought her knees to her chest and turned to face him. She couldn’t wait any longer.   
  
“Steve, what happened?” She had to know.   
  
He sighed, looking down at his hands. “Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. When I was, you know, flying the plane… I was mentally preparing myself. Thinking about my life, my decisions, all of it. I couldn’t believe that after so long, I was finally completing my mission. I struggled, trying to think of another way… a way out. But I knew that I had to do it. I had gone too far to turn back. So, I found a way to feel at peace.”   
  
He was staring past her, a faraway look in his eyes, and she could tell that he still remembered the moment like it was yesterday. She knew the feeling.   
  
“There was no pain. I pulled the trigger, set off the bombs, and all I could see was a blinding white light. When it faded, I was surrounded by these luscious, giant trees. Rolling green hills, blue sky and warm sunshine. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. Everyone is there, Diana. I mean…not everyone, obviously. But I got to meet my grandparents.” He choked a bit, his eyes filling with tears. “I got to see my sister again. I don’t know if I ever told you about her.” He looked at her, and she nodded her head no, giving him the most reassuring smile that she could muster.   
  
“Well… she died when I was 12. She was sick for a long time. It was hard on my parents, they tried to protect me from it but I was old enough to know what was happening. I heard them cry every night after the doctors told us there was nothing else they could do for her, and after she died my family was never the same again. But I got to see her again... and one-by-one, the rest of my family started showing up too. My mom first - she lived to old age. My dad showed up the very next day,” Steve snickered, a tear streaming down his face, “he never could live without her.”   
  
Diana smiled, feeling a sense of love toward Steve’s family, people that she had never even known. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him. He glanced at her hand, and reached for it, holding it in his. He studied her fingers as they rested in his own, running his thumb gently against her skin.   
  
“Eventually, I ran out of people to welcome to the afterlife. And I realized that I was still waiting, still not at peace. I was waiting for you, Diana. All I wanted was to see you again, I couldn’t wait. I had no way of keeping track of time, no way of knowing how old you were, if or when you might…pass on. I just waited. Eventually, I gave up and accepted that you would never show. You were immortal, you had to be, and we would always be separated.” He paused, still caressing her hand.   
  
“So I found a way to be at peace with that, too. I reminded myself that you were right all along – that Ares was real. That you were strong enough to beat him, that you would end the war and save the world.” His eyes lifted to meet hers, as if he needed to show her the determination of his belief. “I told you that you could save the world, and I meant it Diana. I believed it the moment I said it, and every moment since then. I knew you had killed him, and that you were right about everything. That you had brought peace to men, a peace that I never got the chance to experience. I told myself that the world was a better place because of you, and that you had to be living happily without me.”   
  
Diana felt a longing in her heart. How she wished that Steve had been right, that her life had been what he’d imagined for her.   
  
“It was all that helped to ease the pain. So it went on that way, and eventually I was able to stop hoping that the next person to show up would be you. But I was never… I never felt…” His voice faltered, as if he couldn’t find the words. His hand tightened around hers, and he closed his eyes for a few moments before continuing.   
  
“I don’t know how much time went by. But suddenly, someone came looking for me. It’s kind of a funny story actually… it was your dad.”   
  
Diana looked at him in confusion and said incredulously, “Zeus? Are you actually telling me that Zeus sought you out and brought you back to life?” Her brain was unable to process even the idea. She’d believed all this time that Zeus had been dead, lost in his fight to destroy Ares. She looked back to Steve, searching for any signs of humor. There were none.   
  
“I know it sounds impossible Diana, and believe me, I understand. But I’m telling you the honest truth, Zeus himself came to me. He didn’t say all that much… he said that you needed me. He explained that you were his daughter, and that he had the power to send me back to earth. He told me where to find you, at the museum. He wouldn’t give me any other reason, he just kept saying that I had to go back. Naturally, I didn’t argue with him. There was a white light, and suddenly I was here, exactly as I’d been when I died. And, well you know the rest.” He fell silent, and Diana could feel him watching her, gaging her reaction.   
  
It took a few minutes for her mind to grasp everything that he’d told her. None of it seemed possible, and yet Steve was here, next to her, holding her hand. He’d been dead for almost 100 years, but his skin was warm against hers. Surely nothing was impossible.   
  
“Steve… I don’t really know what to say. What can I say? It’s all so shocking.” She struggled just to create a full sentence.   
  
“Diana…I don’t expect you to say much of anything. Look, I understand. I know… last night, you said that there wasn’t anybody else. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been gone from your life for a very long time. I don’t know why your father sent me back, or why he said that you need me. If your feelings for me… whatever they might have been… have changed, I will understand. If you wanted me to leave right this very second, I would walk out your door. The greatest chapter of my life began and ended with you. But you’ve had a lot more chapters, so I understand if you’ve moved on. I mean, I say that assuming that you had anything to move on from in the first place, and I don’t want to assume anything.” He was stuttering now, looking down at their hands.   
  
Her heart broke. She moved closer to him, trying to formulate what she needed to say. “Steve, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you spent so long waiting for me. But you have to know… You’ve never been gone from my life.” The tears welled up again, and Steve looked over at her. He seemed surprised and overwhelmed, his own eyes filled with tears. “You’ve always been a part of me, a ghost that never left me. I don’t know why you’ve been sent back, either. All I know is that it’s the greatest thing that has happened to me, aside from you crashing into Themyscira.” He laughed through his tears, and Diana smiled at him through blurry vision.   
  
“I think I’ve been waiting, too. I’ve been waiting, never able to move on, like a part of me was missing without you. I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought about you, or our time together. But the one thing that has always haunted me… is how it ended. The way I let it end. I was angry, I was cruel. I was angry at Ares, and I was angry at mankind, and I took it out on you. And my anger robbed us of a proper goodbye. It robbed you of a proper goodbye.   
  
My anger was never aimed toward you, Steve. But my greatest fear has always been that my actions and words led you to believe otherwise; that in your last moments, you believed that I felt resentment toward you. The fact that you have spent a century in the afterlife feeling uncertain about my feelings for you… it’s my fault. I wish I could have responded. I didn’t hear what you said, Steve. The last words… I didn’t realize what you’d said to me until it was too late, until you were already gone.   
  
I wish I hadn’t spent our last hours together in anger. I wish I could have said a proper goodbye. I wish I had told you that I loved you. Maybe the century apart from each other would have been easier for both of us, if I had. Maybe I would have felt more at peace with your death, and maybe you would have died knowing that you were loved.” She was an emotional mess once again, feeling the weight of her mistakes resting heavily on her shoulders.   
  
Steve’s hand came up to gently caress her cheek, softly wiping away her tears. He pulled her to him, into his warm embrace. His hands rubbed her back soothingly, and they both relaxed into the touch. As Diana’s breathing started to even out, her vision no longer blurred, she let out an exhausted sigh.   
  
“Steve Trevor, I’ve cried more in the last 24 hours than the past 4 centuries combined.” He chuckled in response, and she looked up at him prepared to tease him. She was caught off guard by his nearness. Their faces were mere inches apart, and she could feel his warm breath. His eyes met her gaze, and he smiled. He lowered his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. She closed hers as well, breathing in the scent of him, loving the feeling of his arms around her. His hands shifted slowly, moving to her sides, just above her hips. She could sense him moving closer, and goosebumps rose all through her body when she felt his warm lips press against her cheek.   
  
Even after the kiss had ended, he stayed there, his lips barely brushing her skin, his warm breath hitting her jaw. “Diana… do you still?” The words were barely a whisper, desperate, longing.   
  
She opened her eyes and looked at him, one of her hands coming up to softly hold the back of his head, running gently through his soft hair. She nodded her head, brushing her nose against his. Unable to hold back any longer, she closed the distance. His lips were warm and soft against hers, and he kissed her back with a gentleness that she had only ever experienced one other time – in 1918, Veld. It was a kiss charged with yearning, a century of heartbreak. His hands rose to cup her cheeks, his thumbs brushing along her cheek bones. He kissed her again, just as tenderly.   
  
He broke away, both of their breathing labored and unsteady. They looked at each other, and Steve broke into a lopsided grin. He looked at her like she was the sun, like he still couldn’t believe she was real. She knew the feeling.   
  
“Is it strange if I say that I want to go back to bed, stay under the covers until the afternoon, and just cuddle with you?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, as if surprised by his own request. Diana smiled giddily at him. Nothing had ever sounded better.   
  
“I would like to request that you keep kissing me, as well. That would be preferred.” She teased, and his cheeks blushed a bit in response.   
  
“Oh, well if you insist.” His smile seemed like it could overtake the rest of his face altogether. She felt overwhelmed with happiness. While they had gotten to tease and laugh with each other during the war, they had been fleeting moments. There had always been the dark fog of war looming over them. Now, it felt like they were getting to experience pure joy together for the first time.   
  
She laughed with him and they walked together down the hallway to her room. “Hey, I could introduce you to Netflix!” She exclaimed, cackling hysterically at his confused expression. “Oh Steve, you have quite a lot to catch up on. I have a lot of work to do.”   
  
He grinned, a twinkle in his eyes. “I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this part took so long for me to upload, I work 12 hour days and fitting in writing can be challenging. I'm hoping to get one chapter out per week at the VERY least, I enjoy getting a story written quickly, but life gets busy so I will keep it up as fast as is possible with my schedule.


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